Siren
The siren is an alter ego of the Sea Hag, appearing on the movie Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy. With this form, the Sea Hag shows herself to Popeye, trying to seduce him. When the Hag finds out Popeye's true identity, she plans a way to get a hold of him. For this reason, she decides to show herself to him with a more attractive appearance. Appearance The Sea Hag's siren incarnation is a beautiful woman with clear green skin and dark green hair, akin to algae. She wears few clothes, such as leg trousers and a pink stole on her chest. She has no shoes, always standing barefoot. She also dons a necklace with two shells and a starfish. Her lips are violet and her eyes are gray. During the illusion, Popeye meets her while she has a mermaid's tail. Powers and abilities She probably has the same skills of her alter ego; the Lady of the Depths is able to hypnotize others. This may be her most dangerous ability since it has an effect on Popeye himself. Her spell is stronger than the deep love Popeye feels for his loved ones. When Popeye is under the siren's full control, he considers her his queen and loses every bond with his family; in fact, the only one thing in Popeye's mind in those moments is to obey his liege. Personality The siren presents herself as the opposite of her real identity. She is a laid-back and calm woman who shows elegance and refinement in her every gesture. Even as Popeye initially rebuffs her, her reaction is calm and composed. Her goal is to bring Popeye to her side, so she always present herself as kind and loving to the sailor. On the other hand, she shows all her cruelty with Popeye's crew, even wanting to kill them all simply for her delight. The siren uses the pain that Popeye feels in her favor. Thanks to the trance he is caught in, she manages to win him over with lies, claiming to be the only one who loves him. As soon as Popeye falls at her feet and begins to worship her like a queen, her kindness vanishes, leaving her true nature exposed. She begins to treat him as an object, without any respect. During her first meeting with Popeye, the siren behaves like a femme fatale, aware of her beauty. In fact, she tries to seduce Popeye with a caress and inviting proposals. She even asks if he finds her charming, knowing she is. Character history After Popeye clears the fog, the Hag realizes that the sailor is the man who she has been searching for for a long time. She must have him, for this reason she changes into a beautiful sea maiden. Singing like a siren, she attracts Popeye and, when they are alone, she introduces herself. Popeye is surprised to be face to face with a mythical being and asks whether she is an illusion or not. She then rises from the water and offers Popeye the chance to forget everything and everyone and give all of himself to the sea. Popeye replies that if she were not an illusion, he could be tempted. She then asks Popeye if he finds her beautiful. Enchanted, he says that she is easy on the eye. Then, a red spiral appears in Popeye's one good eye, a sign of her spell. After this, the siren begins to sing and dance, gyrating like a belly dancer, while her eyes glow green. Unconsciously, Popeye makes the same movements. With another spell, the witch sends Popeye into an underwater world. Popeye swims, passing by a wreck with a statue of the siren on the bow. The sailor picks up a necklace from a shell, but the Siren arrives and wears the item. Popeye wonders what is going on, but then a treasure chest appears before him. Inside, he finds a very large diamond ring, but after he says Olive does not have to see it, without noticing he puts it on the siren's finger. The siren moves towards some ruins, singing, followed by Popeye. There, the sailor discovers that it is Atlantis, but when he tries to shift the entrance gate of the city, everything disappears and he finds himself holding hands with the siren. She says Popeye must leave the mainland and forget all his past. The latter seems to believe it and moves toward the siren to catch her. She dodges him and is chased by Popeye in an endless loop, similar to the red spiral in his eye. In fact, all this is only the siren's illusion to hijack the sailor's mind and wishes. Popeye becomes faithful to the Lady of the Depths, and rides on the back of her dolphin. She orders him to forget everyone else. Popeye follows her command, trying to kiss her. Stating that no one else matters, only the two of them, she tries to kiss him too, but Popeye mentions Olive, saying that she is important. This shocks the enchantress, who loses her chance. Their second meeting takes place after Pappy has cast Popeye away from his island. Popeye is extremely sad, and has no reason to live. When he goes to the beach, a song attracts him to the sea. It is the siren, that, seeing him so depressed, takes the chance to comfort him. Popeye begins to enumerate the worst things that have happened to him, like the break-up with his girlfriend Olive and the failed meeting with his father, unaware that the orchestrator of those events is the woman in front of him. Popeye says that no one needs him, but the siren reminds him that she is there for him and she wants him. The red spiral reappears, and Popeye is under her spell once again. Popeye follows the siren in a little boat, ignoring Bluto and Swee'Pea. As they take off, the Lady explains to Popeye that if he joined her, she would become supremely powerful. Everyone would bow to her and she would rule all the seas. Popeye asks her why does she want him, paying no mind to her evil plan. The siren persuades Popeye to hate his family, arguing that they are traitors that have turned their backs to him. She tells him to give himself to her, because he is a sailor and his life is the sea. The witch, sure of her victory, orders Popeye to kiss her. She explains that the kiss is the one thing which will make Popeye her slave forever. Popeye complies, calling her "my Queen!". The couple's lips are very close, but Popeye's family interrupts the ritual, to save their captain. The enchantress becomes furious and casts thunder against the crew and their ship. The ship is about to sink, but this does not free Popeye from from his trance. Popeye looks at the ship and smiles in satisfaction, because no one will interrupt him and his queen again. The Lady of the Depths takes Popeye under her arm and swears to kill everyone for fun. She puts him down, saying that he cannot resist her and is hers now. Popeye repeats her and gets rid of the life preserver he was trapped in. We see the Sea Hag jump into Popeye's arms from Olive's point of view, with Popeye again trying to kiss her. Unfortunately for the witch, Swee'Pea calls his father, awakening him from the trance. Trivia *The siren's character design is very different to that of the other characters in the film. Her physique is not disproportionate like Popeye and Olive's, conversely, it is slender and shapely. This is because the Hag had to seduce Popeye and she needed a provocative appearance. *The siren represents the most dangerous kind of Popeye's enemies: she is a female and for this reason Popeye cannot hit her, because of his code of honor. Plus her greatest weapons are her beauty and her wiles; against those, Popeye is helpless, because his muscles and his spinach cannot help him. * The ritual that the siren and Popeye perform to make him her slave is very similar to the sacrament of marriage. Both are eternal unions sealed with a kiss, and when the Siren orders Popeye to kiss her, she is keeping his hands as if they were in front of the altar. Besides, in the illusion, Popeye earlier puts a ring on the Siren's finger. *Although sirens are dangerous creatures for a sailor, the Lady of the Depths rides a dolphin, an animal known for saving sailors from drowning. *The voice of a loved one is able break the spell that makes Popeye a slave of the siren. It seems to be the only way to break the curse, because even though Popeye remembers Olive, he still tried to kiss the enchantress. Gallery The siren's gallery can be viewed here Category:Characters Category:Female Characters Category:Villains Category:Alter Egos